SEEKING PRAISE FROM OTHERS

I Thess. 2:6 As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else.

The Apostle Paul was a very humble man. He only had one desire in life, to honor and glorify Christ through his living. He was a man who lived a life worthy to be followed. He is still highly respected in the church today. We are still learning from him and honor him as one worthy to be followed. He had great insight and wisdom from God.

Yet, in spite of his position in the church and the respect the church had for him, he never sought out the praise of man. He was not concerned about whether or not he was popular. He did not thrive on the attention of others. In fact, the opposite was true. He thrived on the sufferings he endured at the hands of man because he preached and taught the Gospel message. All that Paul was concerned about was the spreading of the Gospel and bringing souls to Christ. He was passionate about leading others into a much deeper walk with the Lord than they had ever known before. He was driven by the desire to prepare others for the certainty of death.

We need to imitate Paul in this. Seeking the praise of man is a dead end street. It's not important whether or not people like what we do as long as we do it to honor and glorify the Lord in what we do and say. There will be people who will want to lavish praise on us, especially if we are talented and can do some things well. Ask the Lord to keep your soul humbled before Him at all times. Ask Him to protect your soul so that you seek to honor and glorify the Lord and not yourself. He alone is worthy of adoration and praise.